Christmas Holiday

Early on Christmas morning, Su Yu opened his eyes to the mess in the dormitory.

Gift boxes were piled all over the floor, silver-green and gold ribbons tangled together like little sleeping snakes. The fire in the fireplace was still burning, its red glow flickering through the dim room.

After finishing everyone's Christmas presents last night, Su Yu had been pulled into bed by Sister Fa, who said this was the real Christmas gift she wanted to give him.

And even now, she was still covered in red marks and had yet to get up.

Sister Fa lay sprawled beside him, her long black wavy hair spread across the pillow and covering half her face. The blanket only reached her waist, exposing her smooth shoulders and back all the way down to her waist.

Su Yu turned his head and looked at her.

Then he leaned over and gently kissed her forehead.

"Merry Christmas, my Sister Gemma Farley."

Sister Fa shifted lazily without opening her eyes.

"Merry Christmas, my little grown-up Prefect!" Her voice was muffled by the pillow. "Go see what presents you got."

Su Yu sat up in bed, rubbed his eyes, and looked to the side.

The presents were piled higher than the Christmas tree.

Boxes large and small were stacked together, their colorful wrapping paper gleaming in the morning light. Some were tied with ribbons, some had labels, and some were not wrapped at all. Su Yu counted them. Most were from his Slytherin classmates.

Malfoy had given him an exquisite necklace, with a thin silver chain and a green gemstone pendant that glimmered darkly in the fireplace embers. Pansy had given him a silver goblet. Crabbe and Goyle's gift was rather... how should he put it? They had given Su Yu a lump of mud. A very perfect lump of mud. It sat in the center of an elegant velvet box, its surface so smooth it reflected light. There was also a note inside, written in crooked handwriting: "This lump of mud will definitely make a loud splat!" Su Yu stared at it for a long time, unsure what to say. In the end, he placed the box on the bedside cabinet.

Sister Ka had sent him a suit. The fabric was deep black, expertly tailored, with subtle silver patterns embroidered around the collar and cuffs. A card lay inside the box, written in Sister Ka's sharp cursive: "Wear this to the next party."

Daphne had given him a tie. It had silver-green stripes and a silky texture. Two letters—Y.S.F.—were embroidered on the back in tiny stitches. Su Yu ran his fingers over them. They had been hand-stitched. He imagined Daphne sitting somewhere at home, head lowered as she embroidered those letters one stitch at a time.

There was no need to mention Sister Fa. She had given him herself. That was pretty impressive. Su Yu glanced at Sister Fa beside him. Her eyes were closed, but her lips were curved upward. He could not tell whether she was pretending to sleep or secretly smiling.

Next was Butler Carson. He had given Su Yu a new game console. The box was huge and tied with a gold ribbon, with a note attached in handwriting so neat it looked printed: "Young Master, I visited many shopping centers and observed that every child wanted a game console of their own, so I assumed Young Master would want one too. However, Young Master should not play too much, as studies must come first. Daily playtime must not exceed one hour."

I want to play too, but Hogwarts doesn't even have electricity, Su Yu complained inwardly.

Then there were the gifts from his parents.

His mother had sent Su Yu a brooch. The attached card read: "This was made from Qiongqi's tooth. It bared its fangs at your mother, so your father knocked its tooth out and made it into a brooch for you. I hope its tooth can ward off evil."

His father had given Su Yu a storage ring from Eastern University. It contained a space that was not particularly large, around two cubic meters, enough to store clothes and other everyday items. The attached card had only one line: "Don't lose it."

Mrs. Weasley had actually sent him a package as well.

The parcel was wrapped in kraft paper and tied with twine, with a note attached: "For Su Yu." Su Yu opened it to find a fitted Weasley sweater in dark green and black. Beside it was a large box of soft candies in all sorts of colors, each wrapped in transparent candy paper.

Mrs. Weasley had also included a note: "I'm not sure why, but I usually make their soft candies. Yours, however, were made by Ginny. She insisted on practicing, and I don't know whether they taste good. I hope you don't mind."

Kurama had woken up at some point and crouched by the bed, staring fixedly at the box of soft candies.

"Give me one," Kurama said.

Su Yu tossed one to her. Kurama caught it in both front paws and nibbled at it in tiny bites, her amber eyes narrowing contentedly.

Wearing the sweater Mrs. Weasley had knitted and the scarf Daphne had knitted, Su Yu climbed out of bed, washed up, and changed clothes. Sister Fa finally got up as well, sitting on the bed wrapped in the blanket, her hair a complete mess and sleep-flushed color still on her face.

After finishing her candy, Kurama lay on the bed and licked her paws.

When Su Yu arrived at the Slytherin Common Room, he saw everyone gathered together, each holding something—a silver-green Slytherin Badge. They were the Christmas presents Su Yu had given them.

Standing before the fireplace, Su Yu explained what he had given them.

"Each badge contains Kurama's power and mine. When you want to activate it, just tap it twice." Su Yu took out a badge from his pocket and tapped it twice. The badge emitted a soft golden glow, and a thin Tailed Beast Cloak appeared over his body. Golden chakra flickered over his skin like flames, but it was far fainter than the fully formed Tailed Beast Cloak, almost transparent.

"A Tailed Beast Cloak will appear on your body," Su Yu said. "It can defend you, heal you quickly, keep your magic power full, strengthen your attacks, and protect you from the corruption of dark magic. After all, when it comes to malice, Kurama is the ancestor of dark magic."

Several upper-year students' eyes lit up.

"With this badge," Su Yu said, dismissing the Tailed Beast Cloak and putting the badge back in his pocket, "you'll be able to cast the Unforgivable Curses without any pressure."

The common room fell silent for a moment. Then low, barely restrained whispers of excitement rose. The Unforgivable Curses... but now, with this badge, none of that would be a problem anymore.

"It's fine once the power inside runs out," Su Yu continued. "Just go to the storeroom in the Slytherin Common Room and exchange it for another one. There's a whole pile of them there. I'll replenish the energy regularly too."

Everyone's gaze turned in unison toward the storeroom. That small room, once used to store old brooms and damaged textbooks, was now filled with badges. The little silver-green objects were stacked neatly on the shelves like rows of soldiers awaiting inspection.

Su Yu swept his gaze across the crowd before it settled on Theodore.

Theodore stood at the back of the crowd, clutching his badge so tightly that his knuckles had turned white.

Su Yu walked over.

"Theodore," Su Yu said, "from now on, this badge will be your greatest source of confidence."

Su Yu patted him on the shoulder, then turned and led everyone to the Christmas feast.

In the Great Hall, a hundred plump roast turkeys sat atop the four long tables. Their glossy skin shone caramel-brown beneath the candlelight, and their fragrance was strong enough to drift all the way to the Forbidden Forest. Mountains of potatoes, platters of tiny fat sausages, huge bowls of buttered peas, great silver boat-shaped dishes of rich gravy and cranberry sauce, and magical crackers piled several feet high crowded the tables so completely that there was barely room for plates.

Su Yu saw Harry pull open a magical cracker. It went off with a loud bang, releasing a blue cloud of smoke. Then an admiral's hat burst out, blue and white with golden tassels embroidered on the brim, along with several lifelike white mice. The mice scampered across the floor for a few steps before turning into ordinary plastic toys.

Headmaster Dumbledore wore a flowered bonnet he had traded someone for his pointed wizard hat. Several brightly colored flowers had been tucked into it, blooming brilliantly in the candlelight. He seemed to be in high spirits, raising his glass to every professor at the staff table. Professor Flitwick told him a joke, and Dumbledore could not help bursting into laughter, his silver beard trembling while the flowers on his bonnet shook along with him.

Egg Beater had specially made braised pork ribs, big plate chicken, and rice to accommodate Su Yu's eating habits. Su Yu ate very well. Sister Fa took a few bites too, her eyes lighting up after she finished, and then she picked up another piece.

After the turkey feast came pink Christmas pudding. Blue flames were poured over it, dancing across its surface for a while before going out to reveal the golden pudding beneath, dotted with candied fruit and nuts. Meanwhile, Hagrid continued drinking baijiu. His face grew redder and redder until, completely drunk, he actually kissed Professor McGonagall on the cheek. Even more surprisingly, Professor McGonagall did not get angry. Instead, she blushed and giggled until her hat slipped crookedly to one side.

That afternoon, Su Yu took the Slytherin little wizards skiing.

The slope behind the castle was blanketed in thick snow. Its incline was just right—not too long or too short—and when they slid down it, the wind howled past their ears. The Slytherin students used simple skis. Their shapes were not particularly standard, but they worked well enough. Su Yu lay in the snow, covered from head to toe in it, while Kurama sat on his chest and patted his face with her paws.

Before long, they started a snowball fight.

Snowballs flew everywhere, and no one could tell who was on which team anymore.

Sister Fa and Kurama followed Su Yu to build a snowman again. The snowman came out crooked and lopsided. Kurama insisted it looked like Su Yu, and Su Yu responded by smacking her in the face with a snowball...

They spent a happy afternoon together.

Then, cold, wet, and gasping for breath, they returned to the Slytherin Common Room to warm themselves by the fire.

Su Yu had Egg Beater bring out plenty of grilled meat skewers and all kinds of vegetable skewers.

Then they started a barbecue party right in the common room.

The lamb skewers sizzled with oil, dusted with cumin and chili. The meat and fat were perfectly layered, and with one bite, the juices burst in their mouths.

Sister Fa ate several extra skewers herself. Paired with ice-cold beer, it left many of the Slytherin little wizards asleep as soon as they returned to their rooms.

During the rest of the Christmas holiday, the nightly battles between Su Yu and Sister Fa were intense.

So intense that Kurama did not dare sleep outside at night. Whenever the two returned to their dormitory, Kurama hurried back into Su Yu's body to sleep.

As a result, Su Yu and Sister Fa did not get up and leave their room until every afternoon. Breakfast became lunch, and lunch became afternoon tea.

Theodore had become much more cheerful these past few days. He constantly showed off his badge around Olivia. He pinned it in the most conspicuous place on his robes. Every time, Olivia quietly listened until he was done, then praised her Little Theo for being truly amazing.

Until the day before the holiday ended, the students who had gone home returned to Hogwarts as well.

During dinner that evening, Hermione was still telling Su Yu stories about what had happened when she went home. She said she had bought many new books in Diagon Alley and had finished more than half of them during the holiday. She planned to read the rest slowly after term began.

However, she also mentioned Harry.

"When I came back," Hermione said, lowering her voice and leaning closer to Su Yu, "I heard that Harry got an Invisibility Cloak and spent three days and three nights wandering around the school instead of sleeping in his bed. I think that's terrifying. It's not something a student should do!"

With the start of the new term, everyone became even busier. Hermione was often nowhere to be seen, buried in the library, and she rarely appeared at the Gryffindor table. The Slytherins also trained their spells with greater diligence.

The Quidditch players trained like mad, swearing to reclaim the glory that belonged to Slytherin. Every morning, they got up before dawn and flew lap after lap around the grounds until Madam Hooch chased them back to eat breakfast.